The Italian Pavilion

The Ministry for the Cultural Heritage and Activities, with the PaBAAC - General Direction for the landscape, fine arts, architecture and contemporary art - and the Biennale di Venezia present AILATI. Reflections from the future, an exhibition conceived by Luca Molinari for the Padiglione Italia at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition.

AILATI.Reflections from the future is a play on words, a reversal of the country’s name that opens up a new reading of contemporary architecture in an original and sideways glance at objects, reality and designs (in English, the title would be YLATI). The exhibition offers a bold, knowledge-led haven for reflections of the future delivered to us by reality on a daily basis; the resources upon which Italian architecture will draw to forge new forms of identity and development.

AILATI.Reflections from the future unveils a vision of architecture as civil art, attuned both to reality and people, and yet capable of generating solutions for a restless society, a society in the midst of deep-seated change, frightened by the future... and yet a society in which architecture can and should prompt Italians to live the spaces of contemporary life with greater focus and more courage.

AILATI. Reflections from the future is divided into three sections.

“Amnesia. Italian Contemporary Architecture 1990-2010” is an initial and timelyoverview of Italian architecture during the last 20 years, fostering a sharper and more aware understanding of Italy now.

“Lab Italy” is the central portion of this exhibition focused on the present day, where works built in recent years provide a tangible look at high-quality new buildings in Italy, and the types of research undertaken during this time. The works on show are sub-divided into 10 areas, each of which represents an emerging theme in a country questing for new identities and new solutions: Socially aware design; Life below €1000 per square metre; Re-using assets seized from organized crime; Landscape emergency; Community areas; New public areas; Rethinking the city; Archetype/Prototype; Work in progress; and Connexions.

“Italy 2050” In a dialogue with Wired Italy (the influent magazine dedicated to big ideas and technologies that change the world), fourteen scientists, thinkers and filmmakers who in their way are building the future share their priorities and bywords for Italy over the next few decades, while fourteen designers offer exclusive visions through their interpretations of the theme.

The Italy 2050 section includes a dedicated conference and workshop area. For the 3-month duration of the Biennale, the Padiglione Italia will be transformed into the "Home of Italian Architecture", as it hosts events, roundtables, and discussions touching on the liveliest and most disparate issues facing Italy today.

AILATI. Reflections from the future will also be casting a contemporary eye on the recent past, the incumbent present, and the near future of Italian architecture as part of one continuum, in a ground-breakingexhibition designed by Salottobuono and Francesco Librizzi which occupies 1800 sq.m. of the new Pavilion looking out over theGiardino delle Vergini. The exhibition graphics and corporate identity have been designed by Tank Boys to make the exhibition comprehensible and accessible to non-specialists who'd like to find out more about Italian architecture.

This initial overview of Italian architecture during the last 20 years hinges upon the word "amnesia", a word that indicates the alarming excision of Italian history, of the experiences that underpin the recent identity of Italian architecture. By referring to Italy's low estimation of high-quality contemporary architecture, the word is also a provocation.

The images, charts and records in this section of the exhibition offer an initial critical reading of this critical historical époque, fostering a better-focused and more aware understanding of present-day Italy. Using a hitherto absent historical and critical approach, it presents the complexities and the dense experience of a period that has seen the passage of different generations of architects and different generations of ideas, running from the later works of several post-war architectural luminaries (Ignazio Gardella, Ettore Sottsass jr., Aldo Rossi, Bruno Zevi, Vico Magistretti, Michele Capobianco, and Pasquale Culotta) to the beginnings of digital culture and two new generations of architects, from the rise of internationally-acclaimed Italian architects like Renzo Piano, Massimiliano Fuksas, Vittorio Gregotti, Aldo Rossi, Paolo Portoghesi and Franco Purini, to the development of viable, contemporary architecture in Italy's provinces.

Lab Italy

AILATI. Reflections from the future also highlights the difficulties encountered by contemporary architecture in Italy, where there is insufficient awareness and insufficient support for fine, high-quality architecture, and where commissioning parties in the public and private sector need to be more courageous and invest in works designed by generations of emerging Italian architects. Laboratorio Italia is the central part of the exhibition dedicated to the present day. All works on show in this part of the exhibition are subdivided into 10 different themes that outline emerging issues in a country seeking new identities and new solutions. All of the projects of the exhibition have either been built or are at an advanced stage of construction, offering a tangible overview of quality construction in Italy and on-the-ground architectural experiences around the country. Together, these 10 different themes encompass Italy’s emerging issues and problems, all of which require innovative solutions.

Alongside works by architects, the Lab Italy section also features works by artists: Il Parco by Marina Ballo Charmet, Statale 106 by Francesco Jodice, Ritratto di Classi by Filippo Romano and Eva Frappicini, and Sicilia Incompiuta by Alterazioni Video.

The Italy Pavilion dialogues with the Italian language version of Wired Italy, the influent magazine dedicated to big ideas and world-changing technologies. Fourteen scientists, thinkers and filmmakers who in their way are building the future share their priorities and bywords for Italy over the next few decades, while fourteen designers offer exclusive visions through their interpretations of the theme, in a forward-looking workshop on Italy as it undergoes profound change and conjures up new visions. Architects and designers taking part in Italia2050: